
What is a Vote? 


A SERMON BY 

REV. HUGHES O. GIBBONS, D. D. 


Printed for 

The Municipal League, 
phieadeephia. 

1894. 


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WHAT IS A VOTE? 


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A Thanksgiving Sermon preached at the Old Pine Street 
Presbyterian Church, November 29th, 1894, 

Rev. Hughes O. Gibbons, D. D. 


Text :—The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted. 
Psalm J2 : 8. 


In the new version of the English Bible, we read : “The wicked 
walk on every side, when vileness is exalted among the sons of men.” 
This is a more poetic expression of the same thought. I use ihis text 
as it may be applied to civil rulers. It announces the sad fact, which 
has marked the course of history from the time of King David to the 
present day, that when unprincipled men become rulers, the powers of 
wickedness are let loose, and immorality prevails among the people. 
It is my purpose to speak of this fact, as it is determined by the suf¬ 
frage of those who make our rulers. This may be done in answering 
the question, “ What is a vote ? ” I shall speak first of the ideal vote, 
and then of the actual vote, and finally of what the vote of our own 
city should become. 

The ideal vote includes three elements—intelligence, moral obli¬ 
gation, and patriotism. 

An ideal vote represents a thought, an opinion, a judgment. 
It is the result of a careful weighing of facts. It advocates and 
announces adherence to well-defined principles. For example A 
vote may express adherence to the principle that men, who make 
laws for the government of a state or community, should represent 
and protect the interests of the people, and not the interests of 
private corporations. Or a vote may represent the principle that a 
director of public schools should be the intelligent, devoted friend of 
the homes and children of the community ; and not the immoral tool 
of a ward boss, who filches money from public funds, and receives 
bribes under the name of fees. Or a vote may express thejudgment that 
it is perilous, both to the public treasury and to the public morality, to 
permit the political machine of a state to elect the mayor of a great city. 


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Or a vote may announce the conviction that all judges of civil courts 
should be men, not only of learning, but of probity also ; whose cour¬ 
age and fidelity insure the administration of justice. A vote may deal 
with still broader principles. It may express the conviction that the 
legislative, judicial, and executive departments of municipal govern¬ 
ment should be so constructed, and protected, that each shall do its 
work, and fulfil its obligations, free from the influence of the other de¬ 
partments. Can the intelligent voter fail to see the perils to good 
government and the public safety, when a political party is permitted to 
control, through its representatives, all the departments of a munici¬ 
pality ? What relation has the government of a city to state or national 
politics? The inevitable result of thought upon a city’s life—its needs, 
its perils, its safety—is intelligent voting. Such a vote gives meaning 
and effect to the truth that this is a government ‘ ‘ of the people, by the 
people, for the people.” And does not such a vote dignify citizen¬ 
ship ? Indeed, what right has a man to possess the high privilege of 
suffrage, who does not express an intelligent thought by his vote ? 

The ideal vote includes the element of moral obligation. Civil 
government is a divine ordinance. “The powers that be are ordained 
of God.” These powers of civil government exist for the preservation 
of human life, for the punishment of crime, for the promotion of pub¬ 
lic morality, for the encouragement of industry, for the protection of 
the weak, for the support of the helpless, and for the development of 
all the virtues of good citizenship. Now these high moral aims of civil 
government depend upon the men who make, and interpret, and exe¬ 
cute our laws ; but these men are chosen by the vote of the people. 
To vote, therefore, is to discharge a high moral obligation. The ideal 
vote expresses this obligation to God and to our brother men. What is 
there in politics to release a man from the voice of conscience? Upon 
what principle can a ^ood man vote for a bad man to fill an office of 
honor and trust ? 

The ideal vote includes the element of patriotism. It stands for 
the defence of country, of home, and of all our cherished institutions. 
The true patriot protects the ballot-box as the soldier protects the flag 
of his country. Let it never be forgotten that the votes of the people 
were back of the armies that saved the American Union. Men who 
put the spirit of patriotism into their votes are the strength and hope 
of this great nation. 

Now, with this description of the ideal vote, we may compare the 
actual vote. What is the actual vote? From the history which we 
have been making, we may gather the answer to this question ; and it 
may be more effective to select our illustrations from events not too 
far removed from the present. 


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A generation has not yet passed since the popular vote of the 
metropolis of this country exalted the vilest men, and the wicked 
walked on every side. Their leader emerged in one, Boss Tweed, ol 
infamous memory. All are familiar with the history of his reign. 
Millions were stolen from the city treasury ; offices were sold to men 
skilled in crime ; perjury, blackmail, prostitution, Sabbath desecration, 
drunkenness, and every form of immorality prevailed in the commu¬ 
nity. From center to circumference the city government was para¬ 
lyzed. The good citizens of New York joined their forces, and rose 
in their might. The power of Tweed and his partners in crime was 
broken, and for a time the principles of righteousness prevailed; but 
the forces of evil, although hidden away, did not cease their activity. 
Greed was importunate, and her opportunities most tempting. Tam¬ 
many was reorganized upon a grander scale. The men who undertook 
this work did not lack ability: they were masters in what base men 
call politics. They knew their material—saw clearly that the actual 
vote must be the foundation of all their hopes. For them, the actual 
was the number of votes that could be claimed, by any means, at each 
election. Almost every ward in-that great city had its platoon of 
abandoned men, ready for any crime. Assessors’ lists were padded, 
repeaters flourished, perjuries were multiplied, election boards were 
constructed of the most unprincipled men—the majorities for the 
machine were perfectly certain. When the election was over, every 
soldier in each platoon got his pay, either in office or in cash. Office 
meant the opportunity to get money. The principle of payment was 
the fattest office for the most skilful villain. Thus was the city govern¬ 
ment of New York turned into an immense, complex, relentless, po¬ 
litical machine for the rapid accumulation of private fortunes. In that 
center of commerce, crime became at once the most common and the 
most valuable commodity of barter and sale. The one principle of control 
in the army of Tammany is written in a single word—spoils. It is the 
same principle that gave life, and discipline, and power, and ferocity 
to the armies of the ages of barbarism. New York, under Tammany, 
was a Christian community returned to barbarism. The spoils system 
in our modern cities, under cover of profe.ssed devotion to party and 
under the control of political bosses, belongs to an age, long since passed, 
for the Saxon race. It is wholly antagonistic to every principle of 
Christian civilization. It contains just two elements: the cunning of 
the savage, and the greed of the brute. You may soften it by the 
name—politics ; you may dress it in fine clothes ; you may polish it 
with the amenities of society; you may domicile it in a palace; you 
may ride it in a carriage, and exalt it among the sons of men with all 
that money can secure; but it remains the same relic of barbarism 


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—selfish, cruel, relentless, brutal. Why should we be surprised at the 
awful condition of society, so recently exposed, where this principle of 
barbarism has exerted a controlling influence for years ? Why should 
we be surprised that Tammany methods should develop a John Y. 
McKane? It is true that he did get things sadly mixed, when he led 
the children of his community in songs of praise to God on Sunday, 
and his band of brutal men to beat the representatives of the civif 
court on Monday. But what was this but a vain attempt to harmonize 
Christianity and barbarism? Had not Tammany been trying to do 
this for years? McKane simply differed in the sharpness of the con¬ 
trast which his originality revealed between things so totally different. 
He brought things to a head, evidently believing that the day for 
righteous judgment, in his state, was a thing, of the past. He is an able, 
courageous man, and had many facts upon which to base his judg¬ 
ment ; but he made the mistake that many a man has made in this 
republic. The righteous are long-suffering, but mighty to save that 
which is essential to the life of our free institutions. 

But is it well for us to find all our examples so far from home ? 
Many, who know Philadelphia, claim that we cannot afford to throw 
stones at other cities upon the score of political corruption, and its 
consequences to society. What has been accomplished by the 
actual vote in this city ? We do not read far back into our his¬ 
tory until chapters open that cause eveiy honest citizen to blush. 
If every politician of Philadelphia, who has made his fortune 
suddenly ; and every mah of wealth, who has secured his money 
through the unfaithfulness of public servants, shduld be converted 
just one-fourth as thoroughly as was Zaccheus, what, think you, 
might be the bulk of the conscience fund to be added to our city 
treasury ? 

But take a glance at events that have just occurred. In how many 
districts of our city has money controlled the majority ; electing men 
who, for a consideration, should vote just as the political boss should 
dictate ? Who and what inspires the zeal of the political boss ? Whom 
do their tools represent ? What are we to say of the actual vote^ 
which is so organized as to secure the nomination, and insure the election 
of men to be our law makers, whose reputation for ignorance and gross 
immorality would make it impossible for them to secure even a subor¬ 
dinate position in any respectable business firm in the city ? And 
must we not believe that the men who organize this vote, so use the 
criminal as to disfranchise every good citizen in the community ? And 
what are we to say when these men deliberately debauch our local school 
bdards, year after year, using them as the first wheel in their machine 
for corruption ; for it is the corruption of the community that insures 


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their reward. Just so soon as the community is controlled by the prin¬ 
ciples of intelligence and integrity, the occupation of the ward boss is 
gone, and he must find an honest occupation, or suffer the inconve¬ 
nience of an empty pocket. 

Here is a bit of history which is not ancient. I wish that every 
good man and woman in Philadelphia would compare it with the 
“Tammany method.” A citizen, anxious for the education of his own 
children, and for the many children of the poor about him, appealed 
to the men of his ward claiming to be “leaders of the party.” He 
simply asked for true men of intelligence and respectability to be put 
in nomination for school directors. The pledge was given that it 
should be done ; and it was distinctly understood that the good men on 
the board, who were reforming abuses, should be supported. Three 
reputable men were nominated, and elected ; but what followed ? No 
sooner was the election oyer, than did ‘ ‘ the leaders ’ ’ undertake to 
continue the old methods. It is a matter of common fame that these 
men^ holding offices of honor and trust, organized the school board 
with a mob of brutal men ; one director, it is alleged, was beaten ; 
and the members of the board who sought to protect our public 
schools were compelled to retire. These same “ leaders of the party ” 
deliberately attempted to corrupt one of the newly elected directors to 
their own base methods. When this failed, this director began to 
receive anonymous letters, threatening violence ; and the guns of 
blackguard journalism were turned upon him, week after week. But 
he stands upright to-day ; and, together with the six men on our school 
board who stand with him, deserves the respect of every decent man 
and woman in this community. What has brought this unspeakably 
disgraceful and humiliating condition of immorality into our very 
homes ? The actual vole in the city of Philadelphia. Some one may 
say: “Oh! that district includes the slums.” May I answer? The 
slums are not confined to this part of the city; there are respectable 
slums. They may be surrounding your home to-day. Read this word 
of the Master, and mark the first and last sentence : “ And he called 
the multitude, and said unto them : Hear, and understand; not that 
which goeth into the mouth defileth a man ; but that which cometh 
out of the mouth, this defileth a man. Then came his disciples, and 
said unto Him : Knowest Thou that the Pharisees were offended after 
they heard this saying? ” In our free government the vote is in the 
hands of “the multitude.” There is nothing more perilous to our 
institutions than phariseeism. Respectable iniquity is more perilous 
than open vice. The actual vote will express the opinions and moral 
tone of those who control it. It may be power for either righteous, 
ness or unrighteousness. The power of the popular vote for righteous- 


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ness has been often expressed. It is seen in the refusal of our own 
great commonwealth to permit one ambitious man to choose her gov¬ 
ernor. It is seen in the overthrow of such men as McKane, who have 
gone to their own company. It is seen in the recent splendid moral 
victory won under the leadership of one man in New York. It is seen 
in its domestic bearings, where the voice of woman was effective in the 
vote, in the Ashland district of Kentucky. Such victories as these 
suggest what may be said on the last point to which I have promised 
to speak. 

What should the vote of our own city become? It should become 
the instrument through which the intelligent and virtuous should speak 
with one voice upon the great questions of our municipality. It should 
claim the separation of our city government from state and national 
politics. It should declare adherence to the best principles of support 
and protection for the people. It should exalt to public office only 
men of pure life, of capability, of integrity. It should rebuke promptly 
every attempt at official corruption. It should make fidelity to the 
people the essential condition of continuance in office. It should se¬ 
cure the suppression of crime in all its forms. In a word, the vote of 
this city of homes, where civil liberty was born, should be the voice 
and power of righteousness against unrighteousness. But can this be 
realized ? Can the actual vote be made to express the intelligence, the 
moral sentiment, the patriotism of Philadelphia? Many earnest con¬ 
versations upon this subject with my fellow citizens, and much induc¬ 
tive study during the twelve years of my pastorate in this church, 
has put in my possession two answers to this question. 

There is a discouraging majority who answer it in the negative. 
This majority may be classified. First, there are many good people 
who say : “ What can you do ? ” This generally means nothing can 
be done. These-persons, moral, comfortable, respectable, have given 
little or no thought to the question of the government of modern 
cities. I find that but few of them know anything of what is being 
done to save the city; nor do they seem to realize the perils to which 
society is exposed, or feel any personal responsibility for existing 
evils. Again, there are not a few who estimate there relation to soci¬ 
ety purely upon a dollar and cent basis. These say : “I cannot afford 
to oppose these politicians; it will cost me the loss of trade,” Some 
say: “If I should oppose these law breakers, my life would not be 
safe in my own house ; they are desperate characters.” Many, even 
among the respectable, are under financial obligations to “ the leaders.” 
They hold positions. These, I find strangely blind to the actual 
condition of their neighborhood. They are optimists, indeed. ‘ ‘ They, 
seeing, see not; and hearing, hear not ; neither do they understand.” 


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They hide the bad reputation of men elected to office behind some 
single jewel. Their charity covers a multitude of sins. But the case 
of some is serious, indeed. Their vote is under perpetual lease, on 
the ground of the influence of some boss over their employer. To 
refuse “to receive orders” might mean to lose rent, and clothes, and 
bread for themselves and families. By this indirect power the political 
boss controls many men who would spurn to be counted among his 
henchmen. All these classes have been generalized from actual cases, 
where men have, in confidence, opened their mind to me. 

You perceive that this whole system of political corruption, and 
moral degradation of citizenship, and cruel tyranny over even good 
men, centers in that species of debased humanity that controls the vote, 
and which we call the ‘ ‘ boss. ’ ’ This boss is a relic of the old feudal sys¬ 
tem. He exists by the exercise of power which tramples under foot 
every principle of morality. The fundamental fact of his moral horizon 
is ‘ ‘ Might is Right ’' The attempt which some of these bosses- have 
made, to maintain their position in good society by endeavoring to live 
one code of morals in their private life, and another code in their pub¬ 
lic life, has proved a signal failure. Morality is perfectly comprehen¬ 
sive. It must include a man’s whole life, with all his relations to God 
and to his brother men. Whoever he be, wherever he be, the politi¬ 
cal boss is an enemy to every great interest of the community. He 
corrupts our young men. He imperils the purity of our homes. He 
debases the public conscience. He clogs the wheels of progress in 
every moral enterprise. He imperils the foundations of society. Yes, 
I mean every word, and press these facts upon those who, for any 
reason whatever, claim that the actual vote of our city cannot be made 
to express the intelligence, morality; and patriotism of the people. 

The minority has always been a saving power, when found upon 
the side of righteousness against unrighteousness. This is true because 
power resides not in numbers, but in the direction and control of num¬ 
bers. See Japan and China to-day. It is the element of intelligence, 
not of numbers, that wins the battle; and when intelligence is inspired 
with the spirit of obedience to God and love for man it is irresistible. 
That is what gave New Jersey her recent splendid moral victory over or¬ 
ganized cupidity. There is in Philadelphia a rapidly increasing minority, 
who believe that our city can be governed by the spirit of wisdom and 
righteousness. These are engaged in organized effort to reform the 
ballot ; to secure wise, pure, upright rulers ; to protect the public 
treasury ; to purify and strengthen the civil service; and to enforce 
existing laws. When all the good men and women of the city can be 
persuaded to think upon these things, and give moral and financial 
support to the organizations that are laboring for them, there will be a 


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mighty overturning of the evils which have taken strong hold of our 
municipality, and the immoral abominations that are now protected, 
and that flaunt themselves upon our streets, shall hide away. 

And now, as we are here assembled to render thanks to the 
Father of lights, the giver of every good and perfect gift, for the mercy 
and the plenty with which he has crowned the year for us, as individu¬ 
als and families and communities and commonwealths and a nation, let 
it be determined that this, our beloved city, which has been the home 
of our fathers, and is to be the home of our children, shall feel the 
might of our united effort for truth and purity, for righteous laws and 
good rulers, and for the suppression of crime wherever its head shall 
be lifted against good citizenship. 



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